I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

After the ethereal voice announced "Round Three," the wheel finally landed on "Duke."

"Please choose: Truth or Dare?"

"The truth."

Annie eagerly pulled out a card and read it aloud: "When was the last time you had an intimate relationship with someone of the opposite sex?!"

Then, full of anticipation, she saw Duke, who was all smiles, take out a pocket watch from his pocket.

Chapter 129 It's all about emotion, no skill.

When was the last time you had an intimate relationship with someone of the opposite sex?!

Annie read the contents of the truth card with a mixture of anticipation and fear. She didn't know if she could accept Duke's answer about "yesterday."

Amidst Anne's conflicted feelings, she saw Duke, beaming, pull a pocket watch from his pocket.

She paused slightly, sensing something was amiss. The World Watch was something Duke had won in a lottery during the last witch game. No matter how powerful Annie was, she had no way of knowing the World Watch's effects. However, her keen intuition as Duke's stalker still came into play.

There are many magical items shaped like pocket watches, with wildly varying effects and no clear pattern. Generally, due to the preciousness and peculiarity of time-related abilities, few people would speculate that they involve time. However, Annie knows Duke very well and knows that he harbors some kind of secret.

In Annie's opinion, it wouldn't be surprising if Duke pulled out some strange gadget, even a time-manipulation magic item wouldn't be impossible.

The next instant, Duke's posture in front of Annie changed slightly. The contrast before and after was like a complete animation suddenly missing keyframes, making it seem abrupt.

At the same time, an ethereal voice from another dimension resounded.

"Correct answer."

Hearing the other dimension's approval, Annie breathed a sigh of relief, unsure whether to feel regret or relief. She didn't have to hear Duke give a definitive answer himself—as long as Duke didn't admit it, he was in a superposition of "I had sex with Amber yesterday" and "I didn't have sex with Amber yesterday," and wouldn't collapse towards either possibility.

When in doubt, consult quantum mechanics.

Anne shook her head, forgetting the little science story Duke had casually told her, then narrowed her eyes and questioned, "You cheated... Did you pause time? Or skip time?"

"It's the world, not the Crimson King."

Speak like a human.

“The former.” Duke snapped his fingers. “Why don’t you understand? Didn’t I tell you about the story called JOJO?”

“You must be mistaken, darling.” Anne raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically, “The person listening to your story wasn’t me, it was the other sisters.”

“Stop playing dumb.” Duke glanced at her. “When I was telling Gretel stories, didn’t you listen?”

Annie: "..."

What is the name of the third bomb in "Killer Queen"?

"The loser eats the dirt."

As it turned out, Anne had been playing dumb, not wanting Duke to know how much of his private life she had overheard. But after a brief exchange, Anne understood just how wary Duke was of her.

She explained somewhat helplessly, "I'm not eavesdropping on you 24 hours a day."

"How long can you listen to that in one day?"

"Twenty-three... I mean, about two or three hours! You're just a diversion in my life."

“I believe you.” Duke’s lips twitched slightly. He looked at the stalker in front of him. To be honest, he couldn’t imagine someone eavesdropping for 23 hours a day—did she do nothing else? “I’m just trying it out. You don’t have to worry about me cheating every time after this.”

The first experiment was a great success.

Duke gave his truth during the nine seconds of time stoppage. Annie didn't hear the answer, but the creator and referee of the game's rules—the alternate dimension itself—heard it and responded to him after the time stoppage was lifted.

"First, the priority of the extradimensional core is higher than time suspension."

"You figured out the core of this game so quickly?" Annie heard Duke's mutterings and frowned, questioning, "Is it the rules themselves or that ethereal voice?"

"I don't know, we'll have to try again."

When the ethereal voice announced "Round Four," the wheel began to spin again, and the 50/50 odds landed on Duke once more. The ethereal voice then uttered its signature line once more: "Please choose, Truth or Dare?"

Duke chose the other option without hesitation: "Truth or Dare".

The idiot Taylor duo, who were eliminated at lightning speed, served as poor guinea pigs and made no effective contribution. Duke, if he wants to further understand the rules of this witch's game, will have to do it himself.

The only problem is this guy in front of us... The choice is in Annie's hands. Will she choose the Adventure card that Duke can't accept and end the game too early?

Their bet was about who could finish the game, not who could defeat the other and leave the game later.

Annie is a stalker, but she is also a witch researcher. Although she is very unprofessional and has to listen to Duke's exclusive voice when she is working hard to do research, she is still called "Master Annie" because she has some skills.

A qualified researcher must have a strong sense of curiosity.

Anne was also very curious about this witch's game, and even without the bet with Duke, she wouldn't let the game end too soon.

So she read out a very simple adventure card:

"Take a person of the opposite sex's hand and say 'I love you' with deep affection."

Duke's lips twitched slightly.

Needless to say, how could we let such a fun game end so soon!

Anne cheered inwardly, blushing as she looked at Duke expectantly: "Come on?"

Duke, with a deadpan expression, reached out and grasped Annie's eagerly outstretched hand, then said expressionlessly, "I love you (in a flat tone)."

It's all about technique, with absolutely no emotion involved.

“‘Saying I love you with deep affection,’ do you even know what deep affection means?” Annie, whose hands were being held, was already a little tipsy. While feeling the warmth and roughness of Duke’s hands, she said, “Not serious!”

"The adventure was not completed satisfactorily. Warning issued."

“You…” Duke opened his mouth to spit out the words, but then remembered that Miss Taylor had been eliminated from the game for insulting others, so he swallowed back the curses that were about to come out. He then glared at Anne, gritted his teeth, and repeated each word slowly and deliberately, “I love you, Anne!”

This time, the "I love you" was so heartfelt—it was so angry that I wanted to kill someone, which is also a profound emotion.

Although Anne wasn't entirely satisfied, the ethereal voice acknowledged the value of Duke's emotionally charged "confession" and declared, "Adventure successful."

"You just wait!" Duke glared at Annie fiercely. "If you're so capable, then don't give me the chance to choose a card."

"Oh dear, I'm so scared."

In the midst of their fierce confrontation, the fifth round began, and this time the wheel stopped on... "Duke".

Duke: "?"

Is this really reasonable?

Chapter 130 The Humble Me

Anne's encounter with Duke was not a particularly romantic story.

Compared to Duke's redemptive hand extended to Natasha and the angel of judgment given to Cecil, his first meeting with Anne was not dramatic at all, and there was absolutely no story to tell.

"Hello, I'm the new neighbor, my name is Duke."

"Are you a witch? That's amazing."

"You're an expert in necromancy? What's your research area? Hmm, human transmutation? Is it that powerful?"

Anne's life before meeting Duke was dull. She was a homebody with no friends since childhood. Not only did she have no friends, but she also had no family. She was an orphan with nothing as long as she could remember.

Her life consisted only of studying, and her interpersonal relationships were limited to those who funded her experiments and those who were her research assistants.

The one who molded Annie into this way was the previous Lord of the Floating City, that powerful legendary witch who was an absolutely rational pragmatist. In her eyes, Annie was a pawn with cultivation value, and her judgment was not wrong. The severe lack of interpersonal relationships allowed Annie to study without distraction, and she quickly became renowned in the academic world for her unparalleled necromancy talent, becoming the youngest senior researcher.

But at this time, the former city lord suddenly abdicated, and the current city lord, Carol, inherited her position and also inherited Anne's "ownership".

"You are free now. Go do what you want to do."

Carol was also a pragmatist, but she was more humane than her extreme predecessor. In Carol's view, Anne's condition was pathological.

But Carol didn't offer Anne a good solution. She was preoccupied with the city lord's affairs and had no time to help a lost witch find the meaning of life.

So Anne pondered this in confusion, but came to no conclusion. She continued her research, and her skills improved, but in recent years she had achieved fewer and fewer results.

She tried to make friends, but because she didn't know how to manage social distance, she scared away the "friends" who had feelings for her, and in the end, she was still alone.

Until a handsome young adventurer moved in next door.

Humans are primarily visual creatures, and given this premise, Duke's physical appearance is simply too advantageous. Even Annie, who is well aware of the Pink Skull's true nature, finds it difficult to resist his captivating charm.

Anne gradually became obsessed with every chance encounter with Duke and began to create opportunities for such encounters herself. Anne became increasingly infatuated with Duke's magnetic voice and eventually purchased a magical recording device, which she installed in Duke's house. Eventually, Anne was no longer satisfied with just seeing Duke near her home; she began to secretly follow Duke and witnessed him dating four witches in succession.

When Anne realized she had become a stalker, it was too late—the mistake had been made, and Anne herself was unwilling to correct it.

However, the insecure Anne didn't feel she could compete with the other witches at all; she was content with sporadic contact and disgusting stalking.

It wasn't until the day Duke suffered social death that Anne realized her chance had come.

She didn't mind what Duke had done—after all, she already knew that Duke frequented witches for special reasons, and in Annie's eyes, his persona hadn't collapsed at all.

"Perhaps only in despair can I, in my humble state, have a chance to gain his favor."

……

"Round 12."

The wheel stopped at the "Annie" column.

At the start of the third round, the odds of the wheel landing on Duke and Annie were 50/50. Although a low-probability event like three consecutive Dukes occurred at the beginning, the odds remained roughly 50/50 in subsequent rounds.

Twelve rounds, Taylor and Taylor each once, Duke seven times and Anne three times.

Duke has 24 Truth cards and 26 Dare cards left in his hand. Annie has chosen Truth all three of her chances so far, leaving Duke with a hand full of Dare cards that he can't use.

Annie had 23 Truth cards and 23 Dare cards left in her hand. Compared to Annie's one-sided playstyle, Duke chose four Truth cards and three Dare cards, which can be said to be a very balanced play.

So far, both of them have been very restrained, avoiding card challenges that would be difficult for either of them to complete, and trying to keep the game going as much as possible. Even the atmosphere between them has softened from the initial tension, with them now chatting and laughing casually.

"What do you think would happen if someone ran out of cards first, Duke?"

"I don't know, but you can try."

"It's alright. At this rate, you'll run out of truths before you do," Annie smiled slightly. "Then you'll know the answer to this question."

"I don't want to know the answer. Can't you take a dare?" Duke said listlessly. So much time had passed that he had no motivation for revenge. "Truth or dare is a lot of fun."

"No, the truth."

Duke sighed, picked up the card in his hand, and slowly read aloud, "What is the thing you regret most in your life?"